All-electric LNG maximizes process control in the Arctic

In the high latitudes of Norway, 300 mi above the Arctic Circle on the remote island of Melkøya, is Equinor’s Hammerfest LNG plant (Fig. 1). Commissioned in 2007, Hammerfest was the northernmost LNG facility at the time. It is also the world’s first to feature electric LNG (eLNG) liquefaction trains. Fig. 1. Equinor’s Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkøya Island in Norway. The facility receives gas from the Snøhvit development in the Barents Sea via a 160-km, multiphase gas pipeline. Water and CO2 are separated from the well stream before the gas is cooled down to minus 163°C, condensed to liquid form and stored in dedicated tanks. The separated CO2 is cooled to a liqui